Barq nearly murdered me twice. Once by Kai and a group of furfags in Vicksburg Michigan that ended up trapping me in a garage, screwed in triple pane windows, wooden walls, and a security door that dead bolted and broke.
IME Barq is for furs who are too socially awkward/autistic to use regular dating apps let alone approach people IRL.
Most furries seem to specifically just date within their own circles intentionally. They make furry such a huge part of their lives, including sex lives, that I imagine they struggle to relate to anyone on normal dating apps. Most just stick to cons and meets for actually finding someone to date irl I think. The Convention staff are pretty incestuous and tend to have some open relationships between each other going on, but that's it's own monster. They have their social lives, but they are intertwined in ways that the relationships can easily turn sour and get messy. I've seen far too many try to pressure others to make their relationship open and be more publicly raunchy with strangers because that's just the expected culture - you're such a prude if you don't. Kids, realistically haven't discovered themselves enough yet and fall victim to that peer pressure easily. Then realise oops did I get groomed?
Furry is a weird enough hobby and subculture that it's easier to date within it for a lot of people and I have to imagine it's nice to be partnered with someone you can go to events with. If you're going to a con two or more times a year it would be a lot to ask of someone not interested to either go or stay home while you go.
It's a dealbreaker, for sure. The online life as much as the obvious and the appendant mental health that goes with it. I've seen it happen, it's a hard sell at best. Even a casual anthro appreciator doesn't last long. They're just too deep into the thing.
Under 21s don't get the issue and the older set just watch it and shake their heads. I don't think anyone over 25 is complaining about needing a doorman for a room party.
When you're making furry houses? You're in too deep. Your hobby has officially taken up too much of your life if you can only live with people who share it and ypu structure your entire house and life around it. This absolutely goes for streamer houses and the Slan Shack of yore.
Oh, to be a fly (or sparkledog) on that wall.
Yeah, gay male party culture has a lot of horrifying skeletons in the closet. It's also behind the current trans scandals (dudes behind WPATH were all creeps). Like Michael Alig killed that guy 30 years ago and no one has effectively pumped the brakes.
There's the culture and then there's the Velvet Mafia that exploits it. Neither one are all that special or notable on their own, but that combination is deadly. The con-runners, popufurs and artists are the Mob, as always. It's the categorial facilitation and exploitation of a clandestine culture that makes it so rotten. I think if the exploitation were controlled, the grooming into casual sex party culture would be a little more normal as well. No worse than your average house party, at least.
A very Chris-chan thing to do. Here's hoping the phrase "true and honest woman" eventually enters the lexicon to refer to a natal female.
Certified Mug Moment
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Mug mascot > every fursona
